high brain-rooms

 

Michael Cohen

------------------ [excerpt from Revenge, by Michael Cohen] ----------------

        Let me tell you exactly who the real liar is here.  Allen Weisselberg lied to SDNY prosecutors about the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels and they then used that testimony to charge me and granted him immunity.

        Don't take my word for it - a CNN story reported that the Feds had indeed given Weisselberg immunity, but "came to suspect he had lied to them" about how the company reimbursed me.

        Like the old Ginsu knife commercial would say - but wait there's more.

        I had no idea I was so powerful.  After all, it was the Trump Organization; a small boutique family company with too much clout and not enough common sense run by one man - Donald Trump - not Michael Cohen or anyone else who worked there.  

Everything, and I mean everything, was the responsibility of, and all actions were conducted at the direction of, Donald Trump, for his benefit.  You cannot separate the man from the company any more than you can split yourself in half.  

That's the essence of what I told Congress and many prosecutors.  Now, if you think that in some way I overstated my importance, then you are welcome to your opinion.  But give me this:  1) It is a fact that Donald Trump rarely, if ever, does anything for anyone but himself.  2) Donald Trump will do anything to protect his own ass so he can continue following rule number one.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

---------------------- [excerpt from Fear And Loathing:  On The Campaign Trail '72, by Hunter Thompson] -------------------

        In other words, the weight of the the evidence filtering down from the high brain-rooms of both the New York Times and the Washington Post seems to say we're all fucked.  Muskie is a bonehead who steals his best lines from old Nixon speeches. 

 McGovern is doomed because everybody who knows him has so much respect for the man that they can't bring themselves to degrade the poor bastard by making him run for President . . . John Lindsay is a dunce, Gene McCarthy is crazy, Humphrey is doomed and useless, Jackson should have stayed in bed . . . and, well, that just about wraps up the trip, right?

        Not entirely, but I feel The Fear coming on...

        As for politics, I think Art Buchwald said it all last month in his "Fan letter to Nixon."

        "I always wanted to get into politics, but I was never light enough to make the team."

_____________________

{Thompson - Copyright 1973. Warner Books.

Cohen - Copyright 2022.  Melville House Publishing.}

Art Buchwald

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Baker Street

 

The British Monarchy has these weird-sounding titles:

Knight of the Thistle

Silver-Stick-In-Waiting...

        Probably back in ancient times when those titles were invented, they made more sense.

"Ancient" is kind of the name of the game with that organization.  Yet at the same time, the Monarchy has to evolve and move forward.  If they get to be seen by the people to be "out of step" with the realities of life and society, they might get thrown out, as Prince Philip's family were, from Greece.  

        As The Crown shows it, there's a push-pull / conflict / compromise / searching for a  "way forward" that will keep the Monarchy and Royal Family in the good graces of the people.  Preserving tradition, and modernizing where necessary.

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the same bench every time

 

On You Tube there's a video titled:

A Closer Look:  Jackie Kennedy's Hyannis Port Home | Cultured Elegance

uploader / channel - Cultured Elegance With Faith

        (The word "faith" in the channel's title gave me pause, at first, but there's no yelling about religion in the video.)

+  I learned what a cutting garden is - although the video just mentions the words, I Googled it...

+   In the evenings Jackie would go for a brisk walk and then sit down, on the same bench every time, and smoke a cigarette.

+  When they had guests for dinner, each place setting had its own salt and pepper shakers.

+  In 1979 Jackie left the Hyannis Port house for the last time, and left all the contents there - furniture, pictures, etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That last one, I found a little hard to believe.  On the other hand, there could be reasons for that.  Trying to move forward after trauma.

        Memories of her husband:  treasured?  or painful? 

 

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knight of the thistle

 

Mick Jagger; Bianca Jagger

Footballer Tom Brady and model Giselle Bundchen, who used to be married, kind of look alike.  I notice that sometimes, with famous people - they marry someone who sort of looks like them.  See:

Mick Jagger and Bianca 

Elvis Presley and Priscilla...

In You Tube videos titled "Beneath The Crown" where they analyze both the show and the real-life occurrences, people in the Comments offer their ideas.  Two Comments:

~  "Love is overrated.  Respect is much more important."

~  "The royal family did not encourage Diana, or consider any of her successes their own.  Treating her as an outsider all the time."

        To me, that's indicative of people who would rather bicker than accomplish something.  Maybe not consciously.  It's just where they're at, maturity-wise.

In Season 3 of "The Crown" they show the "Jubilee" - that means the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's reign.  1952 - 1977.  Under the "Beneath The Crown" video about that episode, was this Comment:

~  I did my post graduate studies at the University of Edinburgh from 1973 to 1977.  I was there for the Jubilee celebrations.  

I attended the Investiture of Prince Charles as a Knight of the Thistle and that night was one of the waiters at the banquet in the Armory at Edinburgh Castle.  I was close to all of them and the Queen noticed me.  I have a silver teaspoon hallmarked with the Silver Jubilee insignia.

..."Knight of the Thistle" - ?? ...

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"it's supposed to be offensive"

 

Recently there was a "roast" shown on Netflix, of Tom Brady, the football quarterback who is very much admired by football fans.

Tom Brady's ex-wife, Giselle Bundchen, was angry about some of the stuff that was said.  She made a public statement on social media, that she was disappointed, etc.

I listened to several videos discussing the situation, and read comments -- one comment was made several times by different people, sprinkled through the rest of the comments, it said Giselle was mad because the statements were "offensive" and the Commenters insisted, "It's a roast!  It's SUPPOSED to be offensive!"

After two of the Comments that said that, I typed an answer:  

"No, it's not supposed to be offensive.

It's supposed to be funny."

(You dumb-ass.)  But no - I did not add that.

        But - I was thinkin' it.

When did people start getting "funny" mixed up with "offensive" - ?

To one of those Reply-Comments, I added, "Look up roasts with Don Rickles and Dean Martin."

[Hello??!!  Do we have to teach these people Everything??]

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flying bread-rolls

you tube comments:

~  Honestly, Princess Diana made the British Monarchy famous in the modern era.  When she died, there's no excitement or anything interesting anymore.  She's the real magic.

~  Diana inspired me to venture outside of myself, to become a better person - to help others

-------------------------------------------

All these royal family dramas kind of went down in the '90s:  I was busy being a lobbyist for small schools, going to the state capital during the legislative session every year.  What time did I have for the royal family drama?  None, really.  But I did notice it. 

Diana's book (written by Andrew Morton) came out in 1992, saying Charles never loved her but used her to have heirs anyway, and that hurt her feelings very much.  (Uh, yeah?!  Hello?!) I could hardly imagine.

And in 1994 (I think) then-Prince Charles did a TV interview where he said he never loved Diana.  (William and Harry:  "Thanks, Dad!")  

He named Andrew Parker Bowles' wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, as his real love, and then the public was like, "What is the matter with this guy?! He lies to this young girl, saying 'Let's get married, I LLUUVVV YOOOOO!' just to get an 'heir and a spare' to carry on the royal yada-yada...?"

Then, according to the You Tube videos I see (and magazines at the time) three days after Charles' TV statement, Andrew Parker Bowles put a divorce into the works, and Camilla was left alone in her "English Country House" with journalists outside trying to take her picture, and when she went to the local store to buy some groceries, other ladies who were shopping threw "bread-rolls" at her.

[I'm trying to picture that.]

At any rate, the bread-rolls were not fatal, because Camilla is still alive, and is - amazingly - the "Queen Of England."

How seriously can people take this?  LOL

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her babysitter was dating their future king

 

If you like stories or documentaries about Diana Princess of Wales, a good one to watch is this one, on You Tube:

The Real Story Behind Princess Diana's Incredible Life

uploader / channel:  Real Royalty

        This video has people in it whose Diana stories I have never heard - Ruth Rudge, the headmistress at West Heath boarding school where Diana went; Mary Robertson, the American woman whose baby son Diana took care of when Mrs. Robertson went to work.  

        I enjoyed hearing from these people.

One of the commentators from West Heath talked about how Diana liked to be doing  things, to be busy, to help.  She would help the gardener outside, and the domestic staff indoors.  "She didn't mind what it was, as long as she felt she was helping."

        (I can relate to that - I like to help, too, though I didn't really think of it that way, consciously.)

Diana even received a prize at West Heath, for "helpfulness."

Mrs. Robertson said after it became public knowledge that Prince Charles was dating Lady Diana Spencer, Diana still came to work most days when she was scheduled, but a few times she had to call and say she couldn't come because her apartment building and surrounding streets and neighborhood were swamped with members of the press.

        Then Mrs. Robertson had to call in to her work because she had no child care.  She said her work didn't mind because people there thought it was so exciting that her babysitter was "dating their future king."

-----------------------------------------------

        When I was growing up, in the 1960s and early '70s, there was an emphasis on contributing to society, on social conscience, on trying to "make the world a better place," if that isn't too 'corny.'

        After I graduated from college I became very focused on making money, having a good job, and I kind of set aside thoughts of trying to make things better.  After a few years in the workforce, I got reminded of the idea that besides helping yourself, you should make a positive social contribution as well.  

The reminder was a news story which I probably read about in People magazine where Princess Diana had visited  AIDS patients - and she shook hands with them, without gloves.  It was a big deal because there was a lot of stigma and fear around the idea of a person who had AIDS - many people were afraid to be around them or shake their hand or whatever, because they didn't want to get sick too.

It was the Eighties.

And I thought how Diana made a difference, or a point, with a simple handshake, and friendly, outgoing, personal attention.  That made an impact on me.

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nothin' good starts in a getaway car

 

I like the Taylor Swift song called "Getaway Car."

Also the song titled "Mean."

        "But you don't know what you don't know..."  

Also, there's a video on You Tube of Taylor Swift and Mick Jagger performing a Rolling Stones song together.

I can't get - no - Satisfaction

I can't get - no - Satisfaction...

I say Yes to this.

I read that some music reviewers also compared Taylor Swift's songwriting etc. to that of Bob Dylan.  So it's no wonder I like her....

Baby, better come back,

Maybe next week,

Can't you see I'm on

A losin' streak...

What must it be like, to be born with talent like that...

Don't pretend it's such a mystery...

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...whatever 'in love' means...

 

When you watch (listen to) The Crown, you have the opportunity to contemplate what gives meaning to our lives, both as individuals, & as members of the human community.

In England, they have all these ceremonies, built on tradition and accented with pageantry.

All countries, communities, and cultures have these things, I guess:  ceremony and pageantry.  It's meant to celebrate, and emphasize, the fact that we're here, and we're trying to -  be good, and do good, and make things good, if we can.

Personally, I totally relate to the idea of trying to do good and make things good if we can - however, the pageantry and traditional ceremonies are not as much "for" me - I'm not against them for other people, they're good, but I spent my childhood sitting through things:  church; school; eeeehhhh....

Nowadays, as an older person who still feels young and reasonably energetic, I just don't want to go someplace where you have to sit until it's over.  And that's not to be critical, or mean, at all.  It's just not for me.  Been there, done that.

I didn't watch the Coronation of King Charles.  (In my imagination, bitch-slapping him for being mean to Princess Diana...)  But I read comments on the Internet from people who watched it and were really moved by the whole process - the pageantry, the music, etc.  And - more power to them, if that gives them meaning and a sense of order and organization, and "Everything is going to be OK."

In Season 3 of The Crown, there's an episode where Prince Philip is all excited about meeting the American astronauts who landed on the moon.  And when he gets to meet them, they don't have any great, overall pronouncements to give him - they're just tired, and all have colds.

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well...

 

 

Elvis Presley

Well, since my baby left me

Well, I found a new place to dwell

Well, it's down at the end of Lonely Street

At Heartbreak Hotel

Where I'll be, I'll be so lonely, baby

Well, I'm so lonely

I'll be so lonely, I could die

Although it's always crowded

You still can find some room

For broken hearted lovers

To cry there in their gloom,

Be so, they'll be so lonely, baby

They get so lonely

They're so lonely they could die

Now, the bellhop's tears keep flowin'

And the desk clerk's dressed in black

Well, they've been so long on Lonely Street

Well, they'll never, they'll never look back

And they get so, they get so lonely, baby

Well, they are so lonely

They're so lonely, they could die

Well, now, if your baby leaves you

And you got a tale to tell

Well, just take walk down Lonely Street

To Heartbreak Hotel

Where you will be, you will be lonely, baby

Well, you will be lonely

You'll be so lonely, you could die

[instrumental interlude]

Although it's always crowded

But you still can find some room

For broken hearted lovers

To cry there in their gloom

Where they get so, they get so lonely, baby

Well, they're so lonely

They'll be so lonely, they could die

Keith Richards

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